Gundam V90
by Prayer Reverie
Summary: Sequel to True Feelings. Three years after the Great War and the formation of the Republic Triad, a small group of individuals set out to seek the corruption inherent in them all. But what happens when they find the corruption strikes close to home?
1. Chapter 1

Gundam V90

Summary: Sequel to True Feelings. Three years after the Great War and the formation of the Republic Triad, a small group of individuals set out to seek the corruption inherent in them all. But what happens when they find the corruption strikes close to home?

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**_Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam._**

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CE 74, February 14th

"Miss Alster? We've arrived." The driver announced, looking in the rearview mirror to see his charge.

Flay Alster, one-time fiancé of Sai Argyle and one-time girlfriend to Kira Yamato, looked up, her face settling into an impassive smile. "Thank you Gerald."

The door to the backseat opened from the outside, and a young boy – no more than 16 – stepped into view, offering his hand to help her out of the car. Flay took the hand with practiced ease and swung her feet to touch the concrete below. She was wearing high-heeled black sandals, with the straps reaching far up her leg.

And Flay stepped out of the car completely and straightened, letting her ankle-length skin-tight black dress brush the tops of her feet. The dress glittered, the lines of silver threads reflecting the light. Tastefully applied makeup and a black shawl nearly rounded out her outfit, with small diamond earrings that also glimmered in the light completing it.

The earrings were a gift from Kira on their anniversary after the war. She felt a familiar pang of loss as she thought about him for a second, his deep violet eyes, dark brown hair that was usually an untamable scraggly mess. Quickly, she pushed the thoughts of him out of her mind, at least for now.

The Republic Triad was hosting a Valentine's ball this year, in-part to commemorate the war and those lost and in-part to celebrate the success of the Triad Peacekeepers. As a Vice Minister of the Alliance – formerly the Atlantic Federation - Flay was required to attend, but she wouldn't be alone. Cagalli Yula Athha, Princess and Ruler of Orb would be there along with her bodyguard and husband Athrun Zala.

Lacus Clyne, PLANT pop-star and Representative of the Council would also be attending, bringing along her entourage of former ZAFT soldiers, including Supreme Commander Yzak Jule, the current leader of the combined forces of the Triad. Miriallia Haw, freelance reporter, was asked to attend to provide an impartial article on the ball. Sai Argyle, founder of the Argyle Institution of Technological Developments and Breakthroughs, would be there, he was a large financial supporter of the Republic.

There were already a fair number of people present by the time Flay walked through the large doors, and Lacus must had arrived earlier, though Flay couldn't spot the pink-haired songstress, she did spot Yzak, back leaning against the bar by himself, drink in hand. It seemed that wherever Lacus was, Yzak was right there as well, somehow managing to time their arrivals to be near perfect. Spotting no one else immediately, Flay made her way to the bar, greeting those who greeted her.

"Buy a lady a drink?" she asked, standing next to Yzak, but facing the bar.

"Sure, what's your pleasure?" he replied, turning to face her.

"Champagne." She ordered.

She took the tall glass from the bartender and turned to face the crowd, sipping her drink. Yzak stared at her for a moment before resuming his former position and surveyed the people around him

"So how is business with the Alliance?" he asked.

"So far everything is proceeding as it should; the reconstruction is nearly complete, with only the outlying sectors remaining. Some of the other Vice Ministers are trying to push for more Mobile Suit development, which I believe is a mistake."

"PLANT is nearly the same with the Council is split in half over the continued development of weapons and suits. In this case I think it's a bad thing that PLANT wasn't hit during the war, so we now have less to concentrate on." Yzak told her.

"Somehow I don't think you're entirely against this issue. As the Supreme Commander of the Republic Armed Forces, I'd believe it if they told me you were behind the push." She laughed at her comment.

Yzak smiled and he stopped his reply when the doorman spoke in clear, precise tones, "Announcing the arrival of Her Highness Cagalli Yula Athha Zala and Athrun Zala of Orb."

Athrun was in a classic tuxedo that fit the man very well, but knowing the former ZAFT Elite, he had at least one surprise hidden somewhere. Cagalli was dressed in a regal-looking red gown that billowed out from the waist down, leaving a train behind her. And right behind the royal couple was Miriallia Haw, camera in hand.

Flay smiled as she spotted her friend, dressed in a simple knee-length pink skirt and white blouse. Her bag of extras was slung across her back as she took pictures of various people, Cagalli and Athrun included.

The silver-haired Commander didn't move from his spot, and made no effort to ask Flay where she was going. Flay and Miriallia had been friends from Heliopolis before its destruction, and they had met Cagalli in the deserts of Africa less than a month after.

While the relationship between Mir and Flay had once been tenuous, they quickly worked things out before the war ended. Their friendship with Cagalli was just as rocky, but for different reasons. Athrun was responsible for the death of Tolle, Mir's old boyfriend, and Flay never quite trusted or liked Cagalli, even after Kira's attempts to patch things up between all of them.

The hall became a little more crowded as the rest of the guests arrived soon after Cagalli and Athrun. Several important ministers from different nations began the opening speech. On her part, Flay was bored. She was grateful that she wasn't asked to deliver a speech, because to a seventeen year old girl, speeches still sucked.

She couldn't even talk to Miriallia about anything as the barely older girl was moving between tables, taking photos of everyone at the podium. Sighing lightly, Flay looked around the hall, fixating on Yzak who was talking quietly to Lacus about something. There was something in his posture, in his face, that seemed to suggest peace. Lacus could do that to people.

Flay's gaze passed over a corner, and for a second she swore that the wall shimmered. Unfortunately, there was no time to analyze it again, because the doors violently burst open and armed men charged inside.

-

"This is Unit 2, I'm in place."

"Unit 3 here in position."

"Unit 4 ready to go."

The voices filtered through the earphone in the man's left ear. Part of him couldn't believe that he was here, looking through the skylight down at the Republic's Valentine's Ball. He knew several people down there, while they remained oblivious to his presence above.

But not without good reason. Like the other three men hidden inside, he too utilized a personal mirage colloid system. It worked in the same way that the GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam's system worked, releasing particles held in place by a magnetic system. The key differences between the Blitz and his team were few, but one of the main differences was they didn't need to mask electronic and heat emissions, only to diffuse the light to make them invisible.

And invisible they were. Kay wondered if they were doing the right thing, after all, they hadn't been officially sanctioned to be an autonomous unit yet. But he caught a glimpse of red hair and all of his doubts vanished. They did this to protect the peace and the people inside.

Maybe the information he received was wrong, maybe there would be no interruptions tonight. He'd much rather have that rather than the alternative…

"Unit 3 here, movement spotted, at least 15 of them."

"Roger that." He replied. "All Units give me a battery check."

The personal cloak ran on powerful miniaturized batteries, and in order to maintain the cloak, the batteries had to be replaced as they drained.

"Unit 2, second battery 75 percent."

"Unit 3, second battery 60 percent."

"Unit 4, second battery 82 percent."

And just as the comm chatter died down, the doors below blew open and armed men charged inside. There were twenty of them, and they spread out throughout the room, pointing weapons. The leader spoke in clear and precise tones, very cultured for someone leading a rag-tag looking group.

"We are the Fenrir Corps and we make the following demands. Plans to all of the latest mobile suit and weapon developments, the release of our comrades we specify, one-half the Republic Triad annual budget as of Cosmic Era 73 as ransom. If these demands are not met within 24 hours, we will kill everyone in this room."

"You wouldn't dare. The Republic would pursue you all to the ends of the system." Carden Tain said, standing up and approaching the leader confidently.

"Allow me to prove my point old man." The leader spoke and slung his assault rifle behind his back and grabbed his handgun from the hip holster. Wasting no time, he shot the Minister in the head.

Flay recoiled in horror and the leader spoke once more. "The Fenrir Corps is dead serious about this."

"All Units prepare for assault. Dee, start the dance." Kay ordered.

Dee acknowledged and silently unsheathed his katana. The cloak would do nothing for sounds he made, so he silently crept forward towards a clustered group of three men, their backs turned to him.

In one swift motion, Dee's blade cut through all three men, dropping them in an instant and creating a massive spray of blood. He hit the button on his wrist to deactivate the cloak and drew his pistol as Units 3 and 4 took down another two Fenrir members and uncloaked.

The skylight blew in, the glass surrounding a human form which landed heavily on a sixth Fenrir. Chaos reigned as all four members opened fire and Kay finally de-cloaked and started taking out more Fenrir. Athrun moved to shield Cagalli and even Yzak stepped in front of the ZAFT delegation, Lacus in particular.

Whatever resistance the Fenrir were expecting, this certainly wasn't it. The leader obviously figured that things were going badly for his crew, so he grabbed Flay in a chokehold and held his pistol tightly against her head.

"Stop now or the bitch gets it!" he yelled, his impeccable tones failing slightly.

Kay stepped forward, his pistol raised. "Let her go and you might live."

The leader snapped his gun towards Kay and in that instant the man's chest exploded into a mist of blood, some of which landed on Flay. For a second his grip on Flay tightened as bullets continued to pass through him, missing the other members present. A bullet nicked Flay's arm as the Fenrir leader finally released her, causing her to fall to the floor.

The firing ceased and the man dropped to the floor, riddled with holes. The few remaining Fenrir raised their hands in surrender. Dee and the others restrained them while Kay offered his hand to Flay to help her up.

She gratefully took it, slipping her slender fingers onto his gloved hand and he pulled her up a bit harder than he meant to, causing her to fly into his arms. They both stood there for a moment, Kay holding Flay as if it was familiar to him. Truth be told, Flay was a little disappointed when he murmured an apology and released her.

Paying more attention now, Kay noticed the injury on her arm. A foreign curse emanated from his mouth and he tore off the sleeve on his left arm, revealing a defined and muscular arm, along with an odd mark just above his wrist. Taking the sleeve, he wrapped it tight around the wound to stop the bleeding, its black color going quite well with her dress.

"Thank you." Flay said when he was done.

Kay stood straight and bowed formally. "It was my pleasure." The other three members stepped up behind him and they left the building and the still confused crowd inside.

Dee leaned in towards Kay and spoke. "That was kind of stupid man, now you can't cloak if we run into trouble."

Kay shrugged as he replied. "My battery has less than five minutes, it wouldn't do much for me."

The four men disappeared into the night. Flay stared at their retreating forms until she could no longer make them out in the nighttime sky, and then sat down heavily at a table. She was staring off into space when Mir sat down beside her and offered her a moist towelette to clean the blood off. "Are you okay Flay?"

"I'm fine thanks," Flay started, taking the wet napkin and wiping her face gently. "But there was something about that man … something familiar."

"Familiar? How so?" Mir asked, prodding Flay to continue.

"Well it was like being back in Kira's arms again." She said bluntly.

"Oh Flay," Mir replied sadly, noting the sadness in Flay's voice. "You miss him terribly, even after all this time."

Tears came to Flay's eyes and Mir hugged her lightly, comforting her friend as a pang of loneliness struck her as well. It just wasn't the same without Kira who had mysteriously disappeared several months ago, along with Dearka.

* * *

CE 75, June 6th

"_The Argyle Institution of Technological Developments and Breakthroughs – founded by Sai Argyle – has unveiled their latest ground-breaking technological breakthrough: the Variable-Speed Beam Rifle, or VSBR. Details haven't been fully released, but a breakthrough of this caliber will allow the Triad Peacekeepers to better defend both space and the Earth from any attacks._"

"_And in other related news, the rumor of Flay Alster's decision to once again be engaged to Sai Argyle has not been confirmed. Our team here at Triple News 3 couldn't reach Miss Alster, and Sai declined to answer any questions._"

The blond man watching the news screen set into one the buildings in an Orb city sighed and shook his head. "Geez, they just love their pairings, first Cagalli, then Lacus and now Flay. When it rains, it pours."

And as if on cue, thunder rumbled noisily after a few lightning strikes and it started to rain. Heavily. Dearka sighed again and looked up at the black clouds that seemed to amass from nowhere. "Damnit."

Despite the rain, he continued on his walk, wearing nothing more than black slacks, a red t-shirt and a blue jean jacket currently undone. It was a nightly ritual for him to go out on a walk around eleven at night, but he had unfortunately missed several of them in the past week.

Hands thrust in the pockets of his soaked jacket, he circled around a small park and stopped when he heard a woman's voice not too far away.

"Just leave me alone, I don't want to talk to him!"

"Please, just five minutes, I promise …" the man protested futilely.

"No! Go away!" she screamed back.

_Well, maybe I can do something useful tonight_ Dearka thought bitterly. Lightning flashed again, and not three seconds after the thunder rumbled. He calmly walked over to the quarreling people and was about to interrupt when the man pulled a gun on the poor girl.

"I don't condone the use of violence, but in some cases …" he left the threat unfinished, aiming the weapon at her.

"Just leave me alone, please." Her voice dropped to just above a pleading whisper, she was close to tears.

"You heard the lady, leave her alone." Dearka interrupted, drawing the man's attention – and his weapon – away from the girl.

"Mind your own damn business." The man snapped at him.

Dearka drew his hands out of his pockets and continued to walk forward at a steady pace. He could see the man slowly squeeze the trigger, so he bolted forward, slamming his fist into the man's stomach before he fired.

The man doubled over in pain, dropping the gun and clutching his stomach as he struggled to breathe. Dearka shifted his gaze to the woman and spoke "Are you alright?"

She nodded in reply. "Come on; let's get you into some dry clothes." He noticed her rather skimpy clothes were completely soaked, so he slid his jacket over her shoulders. Then he noticed her hair color, even soaked in the rain it was still a brilliant red. Realization struck him.

"Flay!"

She took a moment to study him, looking at his tanned skin, wavy blond hair slicked back and his amethyst eyes. "Dearka? Dearka Elsman?"

How they both had changed in the many months when they had last seen each other. Dearka had grown taller and gained a few scars, while Flay had grown just a bit, but had a more mature look on her face.

"Yeah, that's me. What are you doing out at night all alone?" he asked.

"Trying to clear my head and get away from the rest of the representatives at the hotel. They keep bugging my about Sai and it's really getting on my nerves." She said almost angrily.

"You can stay at my place for the night, and explain why you're out here in Orb instead of Washington D.C." He slid his arm over her shoulders protectively and they walked off in the rain.

_He's cute, and nice, and strong, but he's not Kira, though,_ Flay mused, comparing Dearka and Kira. Little did she know that Dearka was doing something similar.

_Definitely beautiful, but she's no Miriallia. I haven't seen either since …_

Dearka opened the door to his apartment, letting the warm air rush out into the oddly cold hallway. He slipped his shoes off and quickly made way to allow Flay to enter. "Hey Dee, home so early? Bring anything good back with you?" a voice called out.

"Damnit man, you know I hate that nickname. Anyways, it's raining so I cut my walk short a little. Now get your recovering ass out here."

Hobbling sounds were heard and the other occupant shuffled into the small entryway of their apartment as Dearka went into the adjoining kitchen to boil some water.

"Flay?" he asked in amazement.

"Kira!"

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Well this is the beginning of V90, the second of three installments for this particular series. There is a lot planned for this particular story, so stay with me and please Read and Review. 

Thank you

Prayer


	2. Chapter 2

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CE 75, June 6th 

"Flay?" he asked in amazement.

"Kira!"

She walked towards him, closing the distance between them. They were less than two feet apart when her right hand came up and slapped him hard on the cheek, the blow snapping his head to the left. Kira was left staggering as he struggled to comprehend what just happened.

"You bastard! You leave with no warning, no note, and no goodbye, nothing at all! Do you have any idea how worried I was, worried that ZAFT or the Alliance had kidnapped you, or killed you, or worse? Can your male brain grasp that concept Yamato? Can it!" Flay screamed at him.

Dearka chuckled at her rant, but quickly stopped as she turned her wrath onto him. "And you! Mir moved around like a zombie! How can men not understand this? What makes it so hard? Why are you all so stupid? Your friends, your family, did you even think about them when you decided to vanish?"

_Mir … missed me? But why …_

It was Kira's turn to vent now. "Of course we did! Why do you think we left in the first place? To do what, laze around all the time? No! We left to preserve the peace and happiness of others! Neither of us gave a second thought to our own welfare when we did this! Everything we've been through, everything we've done, everything we've sacrificed, it was all for our friends, our family, our loved ones!"

Confronted with that explanation, Flay quickly closed her mouth and absorbed what Kira had just said. "You could have told us, both of you, instead of just leaving." Her voice lowered to a near whisper.

"No, we couldn't have. Neither one of us wanted to risk seeing any of our friends and family hurt. We kept quiet to keep you safe." Dearka explained softly, pouring hot water into three coffee mugs and stirring them one by one.

Flay narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Safe from what?"

"From our enemies." Kira answered.

"Enemies? Just what the hell were you doing?"

"Black ops that no other squad would touch with a ten foot pole." Dearka said, dropping the spoon into the sink.

"On whose authority?" Flay demanded.

"The Chairman and Supreme Commander of the Republic Triad."

Flay shivered, Gilbert Dullindal and Yzak Jule ordering Kira and Dearka to do the missions that no other soldier would? That thought terrified her. Kira mistook her shiver of fear for that of being cold and noticed her soaked clothing as Dearka brought out three steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

"Here." he said, handing one to Flay, who immediately wrapped her slender hands around it. Dearka gave one to Kira who promptly set it down.

"You're freezing and soaked, you'll catch your death of cold. Come on, you can wear some of my clothes." Kira said, noting her mid-thigh length black mini-skirt and dark blue spaghetti strap top.

* * *

Yzak stumbled into his hotel room, clutching the right side of his face and cursing rather loudly. Of all the times for his scar to bleed, why did it have to be in front of _her_! Of all the people he had to meet to wait for the lift to arrive, why _her_! 

He calmed himself a little and then rapidly dialed a long and complicated number on the phone. It rang twice before a voice was heard from the handset, sounding very much like a 17-year old boy. "_What is it?_" correction, a very annoyed 17-year old boy.

"Get Neo's team mobilized, we're moving out."

"_Moving out?_" the boy repeated.

"Yes insolent whelp, moving out. Assemble the squad. We've got unfinished business that I will no longer tolerate!"

"_You know holding grudges is a bad thing …_"

"Don't preach to me! You of all people understand where I'm coming from. And I know that you are itching for revenge …"

The line was silent for a minute. "_Sheila Antarres will be assembled._" And the line went dead.

Yzak broke into an evil smile. "Your days are numbered."

* * *

"So why are you here in Orb instead of in Washington?" Dearka asked. 

Flay had changed into some of Kira's clothes, just sweatpants and a sweater to keep her warm. She sat comfortably in a lounge-chair while Kira paced behind her.

"Several Triad reps were called out for the unveiling of the VSBR. Sai had specifically requested me, Yzak, Lacus and a few others by name, so we really had no choice but to attend."

"The VSBR's been all over the news today. I've got a nasty feeling that something is going to go wrong with it." Kira said, finally sitting down and starting to massage his leg.

"Sai doesn't share your pessimisms; he's already promised Yzak two units to mount on mobile suits with another three to be delivered within a month." Flay said in disgust. "Everything that nerd does makes my job a lot harder. Despite Lacus' influence, the PLANTs are pushing for total re-armament for some stupid reason, and the Alliance wants to follow."

She stared at both men before her. "And somehow I think that all of your little missions haven't been helping me at all."

Dearka held his hands up defensively. "Whoa there, whoa. Our missions were created to root out probable war causes, not create them. And if you mean helping you personally, well we've done that as well."

"Dearka," Kira said warningly. "You know that was an unsanctioned mission, we're lucky that Sledge and Jag volunteered, otherwise it would have turned out differently."

"What are you two talking about?" Flay questioned.

"It's nothing. Dearka and I don't get many visitors, so we seem to speak our own language." Kira dismissed her concerns. Dearka yawned and stretched. "Well, I think I'm off to reclaim some sleep. Stay out of trouble you two." He closed the door behind him, leaving Kira and Flay in silence.

Kira tried to think of something to say to break the silence, but Flay beat him too it. "I was really worried about you." She whispered, reiterating her concerns about Kira's disappearance. "If it wasn't for Carden, I don't think I could have continued on …" she was on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry for what I had to do, and I'm sorry to hear about Carden. I wish there was something we could have done, but …" Kira hugged Flay lightly, unsure if he was still the same person to her. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and let her tears be absorbed by his shirt.

Tightening his hug, Kira did his best to comfort the woman he loved. She eventually fell asleep, the exhaustion of the previous days, weeks and months having finally taken their toll on the young girl. He took one last look at her face, still sad even in her dreams. "I'll do my best to protect you from now on, that's a promise." He vowed.

Flay woke up with a start in a foreign bed under foreign covers in a foreign room. She wasn't wearing Kira's borrowed clothes anymore, just her undergarments. Faint and rapid clicking sounds could be heard from beyond the closed door, and Flay knew from experience that it was made from someone rapidly typing on a keyboard.

Squinting, she managed to make out the shape of lamp and fumbled around in the near darkness to turn it on. Soft light illuminated the room, revealing it to be a messy room, with clothes scattered everywhere, disks surrounding a laptop on a desk and various computer components on the floor with some books. "He hasn't changed one bit." Flay muttered, grabbing a bathrobe and lashing it tight around her.

She opened the door gently, trying not to make any noises. Kira sat at another desk, typing on a computer, his back turned to the door Flay was behind. Creeping out, Flay decided to try and surprise Kira. Unfortunately his instincts hadn't dulled from the times she tried the same tactics aboard the _Archangel_.

"What are you doing up, you should be sleeping." Kira asked, saving his work and shutting down the computer. Just as the screen shut off, Flay could have sworn she caught a glimpse of Yzak's face. "I can't sleep much anymore, too much work and stress."

He turned in his chair. "It's about Sai, isn't it? What did he try to do when I was away?" Kira demanded. Flay's head hung low. "He wants to get engaged again, I've turned him down every time he asks, but this last time … if Dearka hadn't been there-"

"I'm going to kill him." Kira interrupted. Flay looked up, her eyes wide in shock. "You can't! If you fail, he'll hunt you to the end of time, and if you succeed, his people will hunt you! I won't let you throw your life away like that!" she argued exasperatedly.

He stood up; reminding her just how tall he had grown since the end of the war. "I've warned him twice, and he won't get a third chance!" Flay placed her hands on his chest to stop him. "I don't want you to leave me again." She pleaded.

"And I can't let him continue on like this either. He thinks too highly of himself, especially with his status among the Alliance government." Kira growled in response. "Sai has many powerful allies, and whatever you are currently doing for the Triad won't be enough to save you from them. Kira, I can't lose you, we've had too many close calls."

Over the past year and a bit, Kira had tried to forget about the reasons he had joined up on these seemingly suicidal missions, but no matter how hard he tried, he could never forget that he did it for Flay, so at the very least she could live in a safe and peaceful world and continue to do good. And now with her, pleading with him not to throw away his life, it was too much.

He hugged her again, loosing himself in her familiar warmth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." He whispered in apology. "I signed up for a reason, and I will see my commitment through all the way to the end, be it death or retirement." He told her.

"I know; you haven't changed at all, and I'm glad for that." She replied, finally looking into his violet eyes. "I love you Kira." He hadn't heard those words for a very long time, and it nearly made him cry in happiness. "I love you too Flay."

Their lips met in a passionate kiss, and they were soon lost as their emotions overcame them.

* * *

The place was quiet when Dearka got up, which was odd since Kira was usually up before he was, listening to the radio. It was a nice change; the tanned Coordinator wasn't a big fan of the metal music Kira preferred, he instead preferred the more catchy pop tunes. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." He reminded himself. 

Turning the radio on and quickly changing to station, Dearka popped into the kitchen to boil some water and prepare a small breakfast. A familiar song caught his ear so he sat down on a chair in the living room to listen to it. It was "Heroine", an older song, but still very enjoyable.

There was a shifting movement on the couch, and Dearka finally registered that Kira was asleep on it, his head facing away from the back of the couch, and nestled on top of him comfortably was Flay. Then he noticed the blue bathrobe flung over the back of the couch, and Kira's shirt on Flay. "Wow, I'm glad I slept through that one." He muttered.

"Dearka, turn that shit off." Kira said quietly, trying not to wake Flay. He didn't budge. "Better than the crap you listen to." He retorted. The kettle whistled; letting Dearka know his water was ready. Flay shifted in her sleep, and then moaned. "Five more minutes Julia."

Now fully awake, Kira kissed the top of Flay's head. "Wake up Flay." He said softly. She rubbed her eyes and then looked at Kira, and then around his apartment. "Oh my god, I've got to get back to the hotel, what time is it?" she suddenly rolled off of him and stood up. His shirt went down to her thighs, he noted. "It's 5:45AM" he told her.

"The other reps are probably worried sick!" she started to try and gather her things, but to Kira it looked like she was a chicken running around with its head cut off. He stood and caught her from behind. "Calm down, I'm sure they know that you can take care of yourself."

She relished the feeling of being back in his arms again, but then noticed something odd on his left wrist. It was a tattoo of a knight's helm engulfed in flames. "What is this?" she asked, trying to twist his arm so she could get a better look at it. Kira was slow on the reply, and Flay recognized it. She whipped around and jabbed her index finger into his chest. "You bastard! You were there!" she said angrily.

Dearka appeared in the kitchen door and stood there silently, praying he was wrong about what he thought Flay was talking about. "A year ago, at the Triad's Valentine's Ball, you were there! I remember the man had this exact tattoo on his left arm, just above the wrist like yours."

Kira nodded in defeat. "That was the unsanctioned mission I mentioned last night. We learned about it from a one of our more shady contacts, but I decided to act, alone if I had to. Dearka, Sledge and Jag volunteered to help me."

"If we hadn't been there, Carden wouldn't have been the only death that night." Dearka spoke up from his place. "But you were there, you could have saved him!" she argued. "I didn't want him to die any more than you did." Kira replied.

"What else haven't you told me? How long have you been living in Orb?" she demanded, now quite furious at Kira. "We've been here for just a week now." Kira told her. She eyed him expectantly. "You're not cleared to hear the rest Flay, if I told you; they could have me executed under Section 9."

"I'm going to find out exactly what you've been doing." She didn't know if she meant it as a threat or a vow. "I want to tell you Flay, but I have too much to do before it's my time to go, I'm sorry, it's out of my hands. Get dressed; I'll drive you back to your hotel."

She changed in his room, and Kira wondered just what he could have done to prevent this.

* * *

Sorry for the slow updates on V90, but here is another chapter.

Prayer


	3. Chapter 3

June 7th, CE 74

* * *

Flay was absolutely confused as she entered her hotel room. She berated herself mentally for flipping out on Kira like that. They had just been reunited and had spent a wonderful night together just like they used to, and then she lost it and let her emotions get in the way. 

Flopping on her bed, she wondered why she had said those things … and she knew of only one way to find out. Flay grabbed her phone out of her purse and dialed a number. The intended recipient picked up after two rings. "Hi Milly, its Flay. I need to talk to you; can you meet me at the Tim Horton's downtown? Thirty minutes will be fine, thanks."

Hanging up, she got up to shower and change, trying not to let the memories overwhelm her. The coffee shop she had specified was only a five-minute walk from the hotel, but Miriallia was usually early, and this time was no exception. The blue-eyed Natural already had a cup of French Vanilla sitting on the table alongside a coffee with one cream for Flay as she talked on her own phone.

She noticed Flay walking over, so she finished her conversation. "I'll call you back later Ronaldhino." And then she hung up. "Hi Flay, sorry, I assumed you still take one cream in your coffee."

Flay sat down and stared at the milky coffee. "Thanks, yes it's still the same." She took a sip. "You know, I almost ordered two black coffees as well, force of habit I suppose." Mir said.

For a second Flay thought her friend knew about Kira's return, but then quickly dismissed that notion. Milly caught the forlorn look on Flay's face. "What's wrong?" she inquired.

She inhaled deeply. "Kira's back." She nearly mumbled. Miriallia froze with her coffee halfway up to her mouth as she struggled to comprehend what Flay had just said. When it clicked that it couldn't be anything else, she put her cup down. "Really?" she didn't want to trust her brain and ears in case it wasn't true.

Flay nodded. "I went out last night for a walk and one of Sai's creepy people tried to force me to go see the damn nerd, but then Dearka intervened. It started raining so he took me back to his apartment and Kira was there." She explained.

"We all talked for a while, and then Dearka left us alone, I fell asleep in his arms, and then woke up in his bed." She continued.

Mir interrupted. "So why aren't you with him right now? Our flight doesn't leave until tomorrow, and you could easily take a few days leave to spend with Kira." It was a sound idea.

This was the part she wasn't looking forward to explaining. "Well this morning I flipped out on him." The look Miriallia had on her face demanded an explanation, so Flay continued. "Remember the attack during the Valentine's Ball? Turns out it was Kira who rescued us from the Fenrir, only he and the others were operating covertly."

It seemed as if the ability to form words had left Miriallia, instead of speaking, her jaw dropped. "So I let my emotions get in the way and now we're here." Flay finished. Milly snapped her mouth closed and then took a sip of coffee.

"You can't let something as silly and minor as an argument keep you two apart, not after how long it's been. You're both adults now; don't let his actions cloud your judgment." Miriallia told her friend. Flay thought about it for a second. "When did you get so wise in the matters of relationships?"

Milly waggled her finger at Flay. "That's not important, what is important is talking to Kira again, this time in a civilized manner. Hear out his story entirely and then when you have all of the facts you can decide."

As goods as a plan as it was, it wasn't meant to be. Flay's phone rang, and the ID display showed it to be another Vice Minister. "Excuse me for a second Mir." She answered her phone. "Flay speaking."

"_Flay, get to the airport and book a flight back to Washington as soon as you can._" The man said. "What happened?" Flay asked concernedly. "_Just get back here ASAP._" He said and then hung up.

"What's wrong?" Miriallia asked. Flay stood and put her phone back in her purse. "Apparently something urgent has come up; they want me to fly back as soon as I can. Thanks for the coffee, I'll see you soon."

* * *

Kira sat on the couch with his head resting on his palms. Flay's last words to him kept replaying in his head. "Man, I really messed it up, didn't I?" he muttered. Dearka walked back into the living room. "Yes, yes you did. And not just a little either, you messed up a whole lot. In fact, I don't even think it's possible for a person to have messed up more." 

A violet eye glared at the tanned Coordinator and was quickly joined by the other eye. "What? If you can't handle the truth then don't ask." He said defensively. "I can see why she broke up with you. There's only one thing I can do to fix this; apologize to her." Kira stood up.

"Good luck with that." Dearka said sincerely. Kira nodded in thanks and opened the door to their apartment. He stepped back in surprise as Miriallia stood on the other side of the door, her arm raised, ready to knock. "Miriallia, hi." He said, still somewhat surprised.

Faster than the speed of light, or so it seemed to Kira and Milly, Dearka appeared at the doorway with a hearty smile. Kira pointed to the grinning idiot standing behind him. "Milly, you remember Dearka." He said. Mir looked at her watch. "Look, I'd love to stay and chat, catch up on everything with you two, but Kira, you're running out of time."

Kira looked at her with a confused look on his face. "What?" She pulled him out of the door to his apartment and closed the door behind him. "Flay is going back to Washington." She said. Kira shrugged. "So? That is where she works." Milly resisted rolling her eyes. "She's being called back there Kira, we're not scheduled to leave Orb until sometime tomorrow evening."

"So why is she going back now? Because of me? Of our argument?" Kira demanded to know. '_Or was it because of my actions in these past years?_' he asked silently. "Another Vice Minister called her back, for reasons unknown. I came to find you as soon as she left, but I know that she still had to pack, and it'd be difficult to secure a seat with his little notice even for her."

He stood there in the hallway for a second, not quite believing what he was hearing. And just how did Miriallia find out where he lived? Finally he snapped back to reality. "Thank you Miriallia." He said right before running back inside, nearly bowling over Dearka to grab his stuff.

Watch, keys, cellphone, wallet and sunglasses. Kira was out of his apartment faster than a bolt of lightning, leaving only Dearka and Miriallia. "So how have you been Miriallia?" Dearka asked, breaking the silence left in Kira's wake.

* * *

The speed limit was 100 kph on the main highway leading to the airport, but Kira was easily doing double that, zipping by cars, passing them with reckless abandon. All that mattered to him was apologizing to Flay before she left for Washington, even if he had to yell it as she boarded a plane. 

Inside the airport, Flay stood waiting in line as the person in front of her went up to the booth to confirm his flight. It was a mere matter of minutes and then Flay was up at the booth, asking for a flight back to Washington as soon as humanly possible. Luck was with her, there was a flight outbound in fifteen minutes that had an empty seat.

The miles of road disappeared underneath the wheels of Kira's car as he urged the vehicle to go faster. He was almost there; he could see the air control tower in the near distance. Throwing caution to the wind, he parked in the pick-up zone and ran inside, heading right for the Washington Air booth.

The line-up had grown from half a dozen people to well over thirty by the time Kira found what he was looking for. He barged through the waiting people and pushed the man at the booth aside to speak with the travel attendant. "Excuse me sir, I'm going to have to ask you to wait in line like everyone else." The lady said as politely as she could.

"I don't want a ticket; I just need to know if Flay is on this flight." Kira replied just as calmly. "As in Vice Minister Alster?" Kira nodded. "What business do you have with her?"

Kira's eye twitched, he couldn't wait patiently much longer. "I'm her boyfriend." He stated. The booth worker eyed him with major doubt. "Right, you're Miss Alster's boyfriend. Listen sir, she's already passed through customs and I can't let anyone else through unless they have a valid plane ticket."

He banged his fist loudly on the counter. "Goddamnit just let me through!" he yelled. "Sir, please calm yourself." The attendant said, obviously frightened by his outburst, her finger holding down the silent alarm for security. Two large guards appeared in an instant, flanking Kira on either side. "Sir, could you please come with us?" one of them asked.

"_This is the final boarding call for Washington flight zero one five, bound for Washington D.C. international._" The P.A. announced. Upon hearing that, Kira made a dash for the doors leading to customs and the waiting area that was beyond. One of the guards reacted in time, grabbing hold of Kira's arm before the young man could get any further. Kira struggled, but it was ultimately useless as they handcuffed his hands behind his back.

"If you stop resisting, things will be easier on you." One of the guards said. They stood Kira up, and he acted. One guard took a rough shoulder-check to the stomach as the other one got a back kick to the head. Both uniformed men dropped to the floor and Kira burst through customs and entered the waiting area for outbound flights.

Being taxied onto the runway was a Washington Air jet, and Kira swore that he caught a glimpse of brilliant red hair. "Flay …" he breathed, and then was tackled to the floor as five guards pounced on him. The other passengers stayed as far away as they could as Kira was escorted under heavy guard out of the area and into a security office.

He was offered a chair and his cuffs were taken off. Kira sat down glumly as someone placed a black coffee in front of him. "Pardon me sir, but do you have identification?" the small man asked him. Kira looked at him blankly, so the man clarified his request. "Preferably picture I.D? Perhaps two pieces so we can cross-check them?" he finally understood, moving slowly to get his wallet out of his back pocket.

Rather than open it and find his license, Kira handed the man the wallet and started to stare at the table. "Alright then." The man said and walked off to check the I.D. Kira waited for over forty minutes, pondering on how he had messed up again. '_She comes back into my life for one measly day and suddenly I'm a zombie? What the hell is up with that?_' he wondered.

Finally a man wearing an Earth Alliance uniform and a dark mask entered the holding room. Kira looked up and was shocked, but was on his feet in instant, saluting. "Colonel Lorrnoke sir!" Colonel Neo Lorrnoke of the 81st Independent Battalion, codenamed the Phantom Pain, saluted in return. "Dispense the formalities Kira, covert ops teams don't salute to regular military men like me."

"Habit, sir, some things I just can't change. But what are you doing here?" Kira replied, still confused. Neo took a seat and relaxed. "Apparently when the Airport officials ran your ID through their system, a flag was raised on their system. They obviously had never seen it before, so they called the Triad personnel department. That's when I got a call saying I should head to the International Orb Airport to 'clean up a covert mess', as I was told."

"So where's everyone else?" Kira wondered. "Captain Lee is back at the training center; my three pilots are waiting outside. I've cleared you from anything they wanted to pin on you, but you should be a little more careful in the future, I might not be around to bail you out."

Kira smiled. "Thanks again Neo, I'm starting to lose count just how many I owe you." Neo laughed. "Seven now." And then he stood up. Kira followed suit, and smiled again upon seeing Sting Oakely, Auel Neider and Stella Louissier. "Hey hey, Yamato, long time no see." Auel greeted in his same cocky fashion.

"Yeah I know. What's new big blue?" Kira asked, using Auel's annoying nickname. "Hey Sting, Stella." He greeted them as well, noticing that the timid blond girl still wasn't used to his presence which was why she was hiding behind Sting like he was an older brother.

"Thanks again Neo, I'll see you guys around." Kira said, waving as he left. As soon as he turned out of their sight, his smile instantly fell, replaced easily with a grimace. Flay was well on her way back to Washington, and while his team hadn't received any orders yet, it wouldn't look good if he left the Orb safe house to pursue his one-time girlfriend.

* * *

The drive home took longer, partly due to Kira no longer speeding like a crazed person. No thoughts ran through his head as he walked up the stairs, one step at a time until he reached the door to his apartment. Numb fingers fiddled with keys until he finally managed to insert the right one into the lock and turn. 

The door opened, revealing Dearka and Miriallia sitting on the couch and laughing as they spoke, each telling tales, but stopping as Kira slowly shuffled inside. "Kira, buddy, you okay man?" Dearka asked, sitting up straight. Kira put his keys on the counter, or at least he tried to, but missed the counter and the keys fell to the floor.

"Kira?" Miriallia started to say, but couldn't finish as Kira stumbled into his room and flopped onto his bed. She walked in cautiously, not knowing what to expect. "What happened?" Kira was staring at a wall. "I lost her again." He said weakly. "But I guess I know what it's like to be walked out on, whether she meant it or not." He laughed just as weakly.

"I'm such a coward, not telling her what I was doing, she deserved to know. We should have told you as well, but we didn't, we couldn't. Now things are messed up beyond belief." He brooded. Milly hushed him and stroked his back smoothly. "Things will work out Kira, I promise." Her touch was similar to Flay's, soft and affectionate, if in a different way.

Kira fell asleep, and Miriallia stayed the night, but her flight back was the next early evening, so she had to go back her hotel to pack. Dearka helped and saw her off, relishing the little time they managed to spend together. Kira lay in the same position on his bed for days, not moving or coming out to eat. It certainly wasn't healthy, even for a Coordinator, but nothing Dearka did seemed to be able to rouse Kira.

It had been almost two weeks before Kira lethargically opened the fridge to grab a bite to eat. Dearka was stunned at the fact that Kira was moving and he dropped his cup of coffee, the ceramic cup shattering. Kira glanced over at his friend. "Don't even mention it." He looked at the floor. "You dropped your cup."

Dearka rolled his eyes and then laughed. Kira turned on the radio to KATT Rock 100.5. "It's good to have you back Kira."

* * *

July 6th, CE 74 

Flay was sitting in her office reviewing a file that Triad Chairman Gilbert Dullindal had sent down. It covered the latest technology dreamt up by Sai, the Beam Shield. It had been a month since she had found Kira in Orb, and even when Miriallia returned, there had been no word about him, and it seemed that the harder she looked; the less she found any mention of him.

There was a knock at her door, and one of her secretaries peered in. "Uh, Miss Alster? The President wants you to know that you're going to gain access to level 9 information starting tomorrow morning. He's bringing in one of the Triad's covert ops teams to brief you on everything that has passed so far." The young man said.

Flay looked up. "Clear my schedule then Dale, I get the feeling that this is going to take all day." He nodded and left to make the necessary arrangements. "Now maybe I can find out what you've been up to Kira." She said to no one.

It was business as usual the next day, Flay arrived at work wearing a navy blue skirt-suit, her hair done up in her usual fashion. She passed by her secretary, "Morning Dale." She greeted as always.

"Good Morning Miss Alster. Your briefings will being in twenty minutes in Room 203 down the hall, and I think the team has arrived already to set up a few things. One man in particular was quite anxious to being as soon as possible, but I told him he'd have to wait until the appropriate time."

Flay nodded. "Thank you Dale." There were a few documents that she wanted to sift through before she resigned herself to the all-day briefing. She read over one particular document and her eyes found the word Kira in it, and suddenly she couldn't concentrate on work. All she could do was wonder what he was doing right now. It wasn't until Dale came in to remind her that the meeting started in moments that she realized she'd been daydreaming.

The room in question was easily a ten minute walk from her office, having to pass through a few checkpoints and go down a few levels, and by the time she made it to the room, she was already late. Opening the door, Flay was ready to apologize, but found no one inside, and the digital projector mounted on the ceiling warmed up, ready to be used. "Err, hello?" she called out, receiving no answer.

The doors on the other side opened, letting two men enter, one of them older and wearing a suit, the other much younger, taller and built, wearing simple cargo pants and a green t-shirt. "Miss Flay, so good of you to join us. This young man will be briefing you about the past activities of teams operating under level 9 clearances. His name is Kira Yamato."

* * *

V90 is updated, so is my profile. I've got a new homepage courtesy of and my request for the PlanetSide category went through. Check 'em out in my user profile, and please don't forget to Read and Review. 

Thanks! Prayer


	4. Chapter 4

CE 74, July 6th

The doors on the other side opened, letting two men enter, one of them older and wearing a suit, the other much younger, taller and built, wearing simple cargo pants and a green t-shirt. "Miss Flay, so good of you to join us; this young man will be briefing you about the past activities of teams operating under level 9 clearances. His name is Kira Yamato."

Flay managed to keep her face impassive as Kira kept his cold look on his face. "Kira here is from a group that's been operation since March of CE 74. Miss Alster is one of our newest and best Vice Ministers; she handles a lot of the foreign things for the Alliance."

"Pleased to meet you Miss Alster." Kira said neutrally, firmly yet gently shaking her hand. "I think your partner has everything set up for your briefing, thought I'm not sure on his whereabouts."

Kira smiled. "Dearka was probably eager to get things started, and probably went to see how early Miss Alster could get here. He's a curious person, and probably exploring the White House, neither of us has been here before."

The older man smiled in return. "Well I guess there's no need for concern, unless you need him to help you with the briefing?" Kira shook his head. "I'd let him explore some more, I can handle the briefing."

"Then I shall leave you two. Good luck, Miss Alster." He left the room, closing the door tightly behind him. "If you'll take a seat, then we'll begin." Kira said, grabbing the remote for the projector. Flay stood standing, as if waiting for something expectantly. "Is this some kind of poor joke?" she asked finally.

Kira regarded her carefully. "No. President Delson wanted me and Dearka to brief people on the past activities of the teams operating with level 9 clearances, and I assumed that we'd be addressing a large group of people, not you alone." Flay looked unconvinced. "So of all the people operating in secret, you and Dearka were chosen to brief me."

"As I said, we assumed that the briefing would be for a large group of people. Nothing in the report said anything about who would be attending. This is as much of a surprise to you as it is to me."

Flay looked ready to say something else until she remembered what Miriallia had said to her before. _Hear out his story entirely and then when you have all of the facts you can decide._ She promptly took a seat and motioned for Kira to begin. Kira was a bit flabbergasted by her sudden mood change, but decided not to press the issue any further.

"On February 20th of the 73rd year in the Cosmic Era, the Republic Triad was founded. Over a year before, special ops teams were being trained by the best that ZAFT, Orb and the Earth Alliance could spare. After nearly two years of study, the first of the teams were ready to be put into service"

Kira showed slides of training classes and some of the instructors as he spoke. "The bulk of the new teams were shipped off to the PLANTs where they dealt with a group of renegade Coordinators who believed that the path former Supreme PLANT Chairman Patrick Zala took was the correct path for all Coordinators."

Pictures of prototype High Mobility type 2 GINNs were shown battling with Sword Daggers, GuAIZ and M1 Astrays. "They were stopped before they could carry out their plan to drop the remains of Junius 7 on Earth. Some of the units were shipped back to Earth to root out any ground-side terrorist groups."

"Nothing but rumors awaited those groups upon their return, rumors that none of their superiors would act on. One group took it upon themselves to safeguard the Triad's Valentine Ball, and while the rumors turned out to be true, it was considered an unsanctioned mission and buried deep inside the governments."

Flay knew Kira was talking about his team rescuing all of the delegates at that party, herself included. "The groups were officially commission by the Republic Triad in the month of March, and every mission that every team was assigned was being completed in a spectacular fashion."

"Terrorist activity on Earth had dropped nearly 10 during the first three months, but the special ops teams were not without their own losses. Some were outmaneuvered and outgunned, some were simply unprepared and others were betrayed." Kira almost snarled at the mention of betrayal.

"Betrayed by whom?" Flay asked, curious to know who in the Triad would do such a thing. "By the Supreme Commander of the Republic Triad Armed Forces."

There was a pause as Flay realized that the way Kira spoke that title meant it was his team that was betrayed by Yzak Joule. "What happened?" she asked her voice soft again.

Kira looked right at her. "He left my team alone, and came after me. Only me."

-

_Flashback_

What was that?_' Kira wondered. He wandered through the dark house and stopped in the kitchen as the sound of boot steps was heard again. Barefoot and wearing only an old white t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants, Kira crept over to the cupboard and silently withdrew a large frying pan. The heavy steps neared the doorway and Kira stood ready, poised to act._

_The intruder stepped around the corner and Kira swung with all of his considerable might, hitting his enemy square in the face. The man stepped back for a second, cursing in pain before raising his military-issue assault rifle. Kira swung the edge of the fry pan down, knocking the weapon out of his gloved hands. Starting another swing, the intruder grabbed Kira's wrists and twisted them painfully before bringing his knee up and the wrists down, sending the impromptu club flying._

_Kira broke out of the wrist lock and threw a punch which was easily knocked aside. The intruder threw his own punch, hitting Kira in the jaw and stunned him enough that he delivered a powerful push-kick to Kira's chest. On his part, Kira hit the back wall of the kitchen with a thud and stood up straight in time to have the intruder stab a knife deep in his thigh._

_Screaming in pain, Kira lashed out, only to have his hand caught and the knife in his leg cruelly twisted. Reaching past the extreme pain, Kira connected an uppercut to the man's jaw, sending him into a three-step retreat. Leaning on the wall for support, Kira pulled the knife out, biting his lip to hold in the scream. Shifting the bloodied weapon into an overhead two-handed swing, he swung down, only to have the intruder catch his arms. The man kicked Kira's injured leg savagely, sending him to the floor._

_The intruder grabbed Kira's neck with one hand and lifted him a few feet off the ground. Kira's vision blurred as air no longer reached his lungs and blood no longer reached his brain. "Yzak!" a sharp voice called from behind them._

_Thinking quickly, Yzak turned and threw Kira at Dearka, who was holding a gun. Kira collided with Dearka, knocking him off balance and allowing Yzak to jump through the window and escape._

-

Flay stared in horror as Kira finished recounting his story. To think that Yzak would hold a grudge against Kira after all this time, it was borderline preposterous. "Dearka moved me to the Orb safe house where I recovered and then met you again." He looked down for a second and then back up at her with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, for everything I've put you through, everything I've had to do without letting you know, it took me down one hell of guilt trip."

"And I'm sorry as well Kira, I shouldn't have flipped out on you like I've been doing lately." She stood up and walked around the table to hold one of Kira's hands. "Milly was right, I should have listened to the entire story before making a judgment."

Kira almost laughed. "That girl knows a little too much for her own good." He wrapped his arms around her waist and closed the small gap between them. "I really am sorry." Flay put her arms around his neck and brought their foreheads together. "I know you are, silly." And then they kissed.

Dearka was whistling a tune to himself as he opened the door to the conference room. He was informed that they were only going to be briefing one Vice Minister by the name of Flay Alster today, so he withheld that information from Kira, not knowing how the slightly younger Coordinator would react. He stopped the door as it was halfway open, listening to sounds that sure didn't sound like a briefing on Section 9 activities.

Peering in, he noticed a sight that he hadn't seen in a while. Closing the door gently, he resumed his whistling as he continued his tour of the White House.

>>>

CE 74, July 8th

Yzak surveyed the gathered men and women before him. Their numbers weren't large, only a handful to call the elite of the Sheila Antarres 1 Division. They were divided into three squads. Perhaps the most notable squad was the one led by Colonel Neo Lorrnoke, the commander of the 81st Independent Battalion, codenamed the Phantom Pain.

The masked Natural led three more Naturals, all of them very skilled, into battle with their donated mobile suits. Auel Neider, the Abyss, Stella Loussier, the Gaia and Sting Oakely the Chaos, all hand picked by Neo himself. The suits were donated by ZAFT as part of paying back the Alliance.

Yzak's own squad, the 32nd Cosmic Platoon, was personally led by the Supreme Commander into battle. His second-in-command was personally appointed by Gilbert Dullindal, forcing Yzak to keep his third team member at the rank of Lieutenant. Shiho Hanenfuss had been his second after their return into space during the Great War, and Yzak had lobbied hard to keep her as the second.

The final two men were perhaps the most dangerous; one of them was Sai Argyle, the now famous inventor and creator of the Argyle Institute, a place that developed plenty of weapons. The other was his old friend Kuzzey Buskirk, who obeyed every command to the letter, and he was rather good at carrying out certain tasks.

Combined together for the first time since Yzak had developed the idea of the Sheila Antarres 1 Division, they were all a force to be reckoned with, especially working together. Perhaps with them he would finally be able to rid himself of the one man he truly hated.

"Our quarry is a dangerous rogue, and has so far been able to elude all attempts to stop him. He is considered armed and very dangerous, but I want him alive. We need answers and we believe that he may possess them. His last known location was somewhere in Orb, but he's been known to jump locations frequently."

"I want him caught before the end of this month, and no later. I will not let one man endanger the well-being of our fragile government, not after all everyone has suffered and lost."

They all saluted, knowing better than to openly raise their doubts about their current mission. Yzak kept the details ambiguous on purpose, knowing that while one squad would take great delight in hunting the so-called fugitive, another squad would have some qualms with their target.

Doubts he could not afford. Kira Yamato had to die, that was for certain.

>>>

CE 74, July 10th

"Hurry Miriallia, they'll be here any minute now!" Flay said frantically, setting forks and knives at four places along the table in her apartment. Miriallia was putting out the cups and napkins, looking back and forth between the kitchen and the door. They, of course, referred to Kira and Dearka, both of them finally free for a night to spend with friends.

As it turned out, the Section 9 briefings took just over a month to complete. Five of the Alliance's Vice Ministers, Flay included, had been briefed on nearly all of Section 9 and the past activities and possible future operations, background and the personnel operating within the Section. Flay had been amazed to learn much of the past two years of Kira's life, from training to some of the daring and risky operations they had carried out.

Dearka had confronted her after the second day of her briefing, alone. He had wanted to know how Kira was taking it since the other Coordinator was getting good at masking his emotions. Flay had responded truthfully, telling the blond Coordinator that they had made up from their last arguments, but she omitted the details. Dearka had grinned, as if he knew something more than he should, but Flay had let it slide.

It had been Miriallia's idea to throw a small get together for Kira and Flay after everything was done, and she had planned it for just the two romantic lovers, but Kira had somehow caught wind of the once secret plan and decided to phone ahead and tell Flay that Dearka would be joining them. Unwilling to make his friend feel like a third wheel, he asked what Miriallia would be doing that night, and Flay had answered that she was free, neglecting to point out that Milly was the brains behind tonight.

In a mad scramble, Miriallia had rushed back to her apartment to change into something nicer than a pair of faded blue jeans and loose grey t-shirt, and then had rushed back to finish preparations for the addition of two more people. Both women could only hope that there would be enough food for all of them. They would find out in a second as the doorbell rang, letting both of them know that their guests had arrived.

Miriallia whipped off her borrowed pink apron, smoothing the ruffles of her light blue slacks and frilly white shirt, and then went to answer the door. As expected, both Kira and Dearka were waiting on the other side, Kira holding a bottle of wine and Dearka holding a corning ware pot with tin foil wrapped around it. "Hello Kira, Dearka." She greeted.

Kira hugged his old friend warmly. "I brought red wine because I didn't know what we were having, and it goes with our roast." He explained, holding up the bottle of wine and pointing at the container Dearka was still holding.

"Well that's a relief." Flay said, walking to the door to greet her boyfriend. "Not only did you bring more food, but you brought what we prepared as well." Kira handed the bottle of wine to Dearka and smoothly picked up his girlfriend in a hug. "I missed you." He whispered.

"It's been what, five hours since the end of the briefing?" Flay whispered back, brushing her lips over his. "It might as well have been an eternity." He said sweetly. The timer on the oven went off, letting all know that the roast was done.

"Who's hungry?" Dearka called from the kitchen.

>>>

The plates had been piled near the sink, the cutlery divided into their respective groups, the wine glasses soaking in warm soapy water. The table was clear of both food and people, the latter digesting in the former who sat on the comfy carpeted floor or on the soft couch, watching a bit of TV.

"You know what'd be good right about now?" Miriallia said with her eyes closed, "a tub of Butter Pecan ice cream." Kira and Dearka looked at each other with worried looks.

"Mmm … or French Vanilla." Flay added in, nearly drooling at the thought of ice cream. And before either beautiful girl could turn to either Coordinator, Kira stood. "So one tub of Butter Pecan and a tub of French Vanilla? Coming right up ladies." He volunteered.

Dearka thought that Kira was insane. Volunteering to go get ice cream was far beyond any of their missions they had undertaken. "Are you sure Kira?" Flay asked from her place on the couch.

"I couldn't be more certain sweetie." He replied, kissing her on the lips. "I will be but a few minutes." He proclaimed like he was a knight in shining armor off to slay the beast.

"Kira, the Ice King shop is two and a half blocks east!" Milly called out before Kira got out the door. And then the door shut, leaving Dearka all alone to contend with two ice cream craving women.

It was a warm summer night, the sun just starting to set on the horizon, casting a beautiful orange and red glow. Kira whistled as he walked towards the Ice King Ice Cream shop, it was the first time in a long time he had taken the time to appreciate the smaller things in life, like getting ice cream, a warm night, or a nice relaxing meal shared with friends and loved ones.

He stood at a crosswalk, waiting for the lights to change when he noticed a man with silver hair standing against a building, looking at his watch as if waiting for something or someone. "Yzak …" he muttered angrily. The lights changed and the walk signal beeped, so Kira crossed the road with a new purpose behind his stride.

"Excuse me," he said, deepening his voice a little and jabbing Yzak hard in the shoulder twice, "do you have the time?"

"Yeah you jackass it's-" Yzak turned to the rude man, and then the words died on his tongue as he came face to face with Kira. Kira could see Yzak's scar had new scabs on it, as if a massive blow had opened the old wound. Seconds passed as both men stood there, wondering if the other dared to start something in such a public setting, but then Kira reared his arm back and nailed Yzak square in the face with his fist.

Only his ZAFT trained instincts kept his eyes from watering from the force of the blow. Seeing his target through a haze of red, Yzak retaliated with a savage three-hit combo, forcing Kira right into traffic. A car honked as tires squealed in an effort to stop and Kira landed on top of the hood. He paused for a second but then rolled backwards off of the car just as Yzak landed his leap on top of the car, denting the hood.

And again they both paused, ignoring the protests of the drivers and gasps of the expanding crowd. Then Kira turned and ran as fast as he could, crossing streets, jumping and sliding over cars that screeched to a halt before him and shouldering his way past people on the streets.

Less than ten feet behind him was Yzak, yelling at the top of his lungs. "YOU STARTED THIS ONE YAMATO! NOW BE A MAN AND FINISH IT!" Kira turned a corner and continued to run until he could find an advantage. Yzak barreled on, not paying attention to his surroundings, and as a result missed the glimpse of familiar long pink hair and a worried face.

Turning another corner, Kira ended up in a dead-end alley. Stopping, he turned and punched at Yzak just as the older Coordinator came around the corner. "Wrong turn Yamato? That'll be the last mistake you ever make." He snarled as he dodged the punch.

"Goddamnit!" Kira swore.

Yzak charged and threw a punch at Kira, who similarly charged and punched, their fists connecting. Pushing off from each other, Kira ran forward again, and missed his second punch as Yzak sidestepped and grabbed the outstretched arm. Pivoting on his feet, Yzak used Kira's momentum to throw the younger Coordinator into the wall and flew forwards, foot raised to kick.

Kira dodged and aimed a roundhouse kick at Yzak's unprotected back, but was slightly stunned when the silver-haired Coordinator jumped and easily cleared the kick, back flipping over Kira's leg to land. As soon as Yzak's legs touched ground Kira body checked his enemy, sending Yzak off balance and onto the pavement. Screaming in rage, Yzak went from horizontal to vertical and into Kira in less than a second and rammed Kira's body into the wall again. Yzak stepped back a step and from out of nowhere produced a switch-blade and prepared to drive it into Kira as he tried to recover.

The knife came down, whistling through the air as it went. "Yzak stop!" a voice cried out. Yzak inexplicably stopped. There were only three people in the galaxy that he would listen to. The first was Chairman Gilbert Durandal, whom he believed was leading both Coordinators and Naturals into an era of peace. The second was himself, its considered bad form to argue with yourself after all. And the third? The third person was Lacus Clyne; the one who had stopped him.

With the knife mere inches away from Kira's head, Yzak turned his head to see Lacus Clyne in a light pink dress standing at the mouth of the alley. "What are you doing here Miss Clyne?" Yzak growled out.

"Stopping you from making a big mistake." came her reply.

Seeing that Yzak was distracted, Kira lunged at Yzak, tackling him and slipping the knife out of his hands all the while ignoring Lacus' protests. "Kira no!" Now weaponless, Yzak rolled backwards and came up on his feet as Kira advanced with his knife. "This brings back memories, now doesn't it!" Kira yelled and thrust the blade forward.

"Stop Kira!" a new voice called out. This one had more effect on Kira then Lacus did. Kira stopped, but didn't take his eyes off of Yzak, he knew who it was. "Stay out of this Flay." he warned.

"No Kira. Yzak isn't your enemy, and you aren't his." Flay explained.

"Not my enemy?" Kira laughed. "This man tried to kill me in my own home. If it wasn't for Dearka, I wouldn't be here right now!"

"What a shame that would be." Yzak snorted.

"What the hell is your problem!"

"My problem is YOU! You're an ungrateful retarded son of a bitch! She risked her life for you, twice! She gave you the Freedom and the power to end the war! And how did you repay her? You left her!" Yzak yelled, pointing at Lacus.

"And why the hell do you care so much!" Kira demanded.

"Because I Love Her!" that stunned everyone. "Since the day I first saw her, and even when she was declared a traitor. I haven't stopped loving her, and I never will."

And silence reigned the alley, Lacus stared at Yzak in shock, Kira still hadn't taken his eyes off of his foe, but slowly stepped backwards. Flay walked towards Kira and placed her hands on his, and he finally broke eye contact with Yzak and loosened his grip on the knife, letting it clatter to the ground.

Lacus placed her hands on Yzak's shoulders. "Did you … did you really mean what you said?" she asked, a little unsure of the events and his words. His hard eyes softened as they gazed at her, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Of course, I could never lie about something that, especially not to someone like you." He said sincerely.

A smile graced her features. "I think we need to talk over some tea. Maybe you two would like to join-" Lacus started, but was cut off.

"No!" both Kira and Yzak said together. They looked at each other once again. "Not tonight, not ever." Kira said.

"I wouldn't sully myself to sitting down in the same room as this coward." Yzak retorted.

"Stop it, both of you." Flay ordered. Kira turned and walked out of the alley wordlessly. He had caught the look in Yzak's eyes that said 'this isn't over'.

"Flay, don't be too hard on him." Lacus said as Flay left.

Kira was angry at himself for allowing revenge to cloud his mind. He should have ignored Yzak and just kept walking, but he didn't. It seemed as if a part of him wanted his relationship with Flay to fail, he kept doing stupid things like this. And on top of it all, he still hadn't gotten the ice cream.

* * *

It's been a while since I've updated this story, lots to do, lots to do.  
Reviews are always helpful, so please read and review. 


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